The 1978 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for a record third time. The Yugoslavian (now Serbian) city had previously hosted the championships in 1971 and 1975.
The men's competition consisted of six Canadian (single paddle, open boat) and nine kayak events. Three events were held for the women, all in kayak.
This was the fourteenth championships in canoe sprint.
| Event | Gold | Time | Silver | Time | Bronze | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-1 500 m |  Liubomir Ljubenov (BUL) |  Gyula Hajdu (HUN) |  Sergey Liminovich (URS) | |||
| C-1 1000 m |  Matija Ljubek (YUG) | Tamás Wichmann (HUN) |  Ivan Patzaichin (ROU) | |||
| C-1 10000 m | Ivan Patzaichin (ROU) | Vasiliy Yurchenko (URS) | Matija Ljubek (YUG) | |||
| C-2 500 m | Hungary László Foltán István Vaskúti | Soviet Union Sergey Petrenko Petras Grigonis | Romania Gheorghe Simionov Toma Simionov | |||
| C-2 1000 m | Hungary Tamás Buday Oszkár Frey | Romania Gheorghe Simionov Toma Simionov | Soviet Union Sergey Postrechin Yuri Lobanov | |||
| C-2 10000 m | Hungary Tamás Buday László Vaskúti | Romania Gheorghe Simionov Toma Simionov | Soviet Union Viktor Vorobiyev Aleksandr Beleyi |
| Event | Gold | Time | Silver | Time | Bronze | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K-1 500 m |  Roswitha Eberl (GDR) | Olga Makarova (URS) | Maria Cosma (ROU) | |||
| K-2 500 m | East Germany Marion Rösiger Martina Fischer | Soviet Union Natalya Kalashinkova Nina Doroh | Romania Agafia Orlov Natasia Nichitov | |||
| K-4 500 m | East Germany Marion Rösiger Roswitha Eberl Carsta Genäuß Martina Fischer | Bulgaria Vanja Gescheva Maria Mintscheva Natascha Janakieva Iliana Nikolova | Romania Agafia Orlov Natasia Nichitov Maria Nicolae Nastasia Buri |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Germany (GDR) | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | Hungary (HUN) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 |
| 4 | Romania (ROU) | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
| 5 | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 |  Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 9 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Norway (NOR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals (10 entries) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 54 | |
The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every non-Olympic year since 1970 and officially included paracanoe events since 2010; since 2012, paracanoe-specific editions of this event have been held in Summer Paralympic years.
The 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in London, Great Britain. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation, formed in 1946 from the Internationale Repräsentantenschaft Kanusport (IRK).
The 1950 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Copenhagen, Denmark. This event was held under the International Canoe Federation.
The 1954 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mâcon, France. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation.
The 1958 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation.
The 1963 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Jajce, Yugoslavia. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation.
The 1970 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Copenhagen, Denmark for the second time after hosting the event in 1950. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation. Beginning at these championships, the event would be held on an annual basis in non-Summer Olympic years, a tradition that continues as of 2009.
The 1971 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
The 1973 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Tampere, Finland.
The 1974 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mexico City, Mexico in neighboring Xochimilco. This marked the first time the championships took place outside Europe. As of 2009, all championships have taken place either in Europe or North America. The lake was where the canoeing and rowing events took place for the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The 1975 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for the second time, having hosted them in 1971. This also equaled the most times a city had done so with Copenhagen, Denmark.
The 1981 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Nottingham, Great Britain.
The 1982 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia for the record fourth time. The Yugoslavian city had host the championships previously in 1971, 1975, and 1978.
The 1983 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Tampere, Finland for the second time. The Finnish city had host the championships previously in 1973.
The 1985 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Mechelen, Belgium.
The 1986 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Montreal, Canada at the Notre Dame Island. This is also where the canoeing and rowing competitions for the 1976 Summer Olympics took place.
The 1990 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Poznań, Poland on Lake Malta.
The 1995 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Duisburg, Germany for the third time. The German city had hosted the event previously in 1979 and 1987 when it was part of West Germany.
The 1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on Lake Banook.
The 1999 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Milan, Italy at the Idroscalo.
| Editions |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Medalists | ||
Years marked (para) were limited to paracanoe events only | ||